At the park, Eric Miller (pictured at top of post and below), director of the Western Kentucky Raptor Center, talked to the girls and their counselors about the injured birds of prey who are taken in by the center and how they are rehabilitated there. Eric used Diva, a 1-year-old barred owl, as an example. Diva was hit by a car and sustained a broken wing and a head injury. Since she could not gain lift to fly, now she is the center's good will ambassador for teaching children about birds of prey. Miller told the girls that these are our birds to protect!

Next, Valerie Holcomb (below) volunteered to lead all the girls on a 1.5-mile-long wildflower walk. They explored, and Valerie was able to pinpoint several kinds of wildflowers on the trail -- spring beauty, Dutchman's breeches, May maple, poppy, and wild violets. During the hike, the girls enjoyed walking on the hanging bridge, and just chatting with their friends on a gorgeous sunny day. Everybody loved the sun after a long winter!

Thanks to Brad Smith for organizing this perfect educational outing for these urban girls. The icing on the cake was when two photos -- including the one atop this post -- appeared the next day on the front page of Messenger Inquirer, the only paper in Owensboro.

This is the second time the Pennyrile Group has partnered with Owensboro Girls Inc. to help the girls to learn about nature. Last time it was an outing to John James Audubon State Park (below), named after the famous ornithologist, naturalist, and painter, who lived in the area for a decade during his middle age.

Photo by Zachjank, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Girls Incorporated is a national non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. Girls Incorporated of Owensboro-Daviess County has been in the community since 1969 as a provider of informal educational opportunities for girls between the ages of 6 and 18. The Pennyrile Group has partnered with Girls Inc. since 2009 on a variety of projects, including planting flowers and vegetables in the summer, teaching them about composting, and hosting outings to nearby state parks. (Below, last year's trip to John James Audubon State Park.)

As we detailed on Friday, Colorado Flood Recovery Weekend events took place in Boulder, Longmont, Lyons, and Greely, which were among some of the hardest hit places during the historic deadly flooding last month. Volunteers assisted with clean-up efforts in homes and parks Saturday and Sunday morning."It was amazing and humbling," said Bryce Carter, Sierra Club Beyond Coal Organizer in Colorado, who helped plan the weekend and volunteered at a flooded farm. "I found myself standing there shocked of just how devastated the property was."

Carter and volunteers spent hours digging through the mud and debris. Check out the video he took of the day.

"We were digging through people's lives strewn across the landscape. The homeowner, who rented out the property, didn't have flood insurance. The team effort we put in truly moved mountains (of mud) as we worked to take down the walls of the first floor of her home and clean out debris throughout, work which they never would have been able to have happened in the time we did it. I couldn't have been prouder of everyone's hard work."The weekend closed with a volunteer appreciation event featuring music, food, and speakers. Speakers discussed the importance of taking direct action both locally to help our neighbors and nationally with supporting measures to combat climate disruption.

"Many of our volunteers, and even hurting homeowners, talked about the disturbing trends we're seeing in Colorado where the Front Range is on the front lines of climate disruption," Carter said. "We also talked about the importance for us to act not just locally one shovel-full at a time, but also nationally to have strong carbon standards with the Environmental Protection Agency. To look in the eyes of those hurting, going through muddied photos of their loved ones, affirmed my determination to do everything I can to stop further climate disruption."

September 16, 2013

We climb for many reasons. We climb to challenge ourselves and we climb for spiritual fulfillment. We climb to mark the anniversaries of our victories as well as the tragedies. Last week, our team of veterans climbed for their own personal reasons in remembrance of the events of September 11th, 2001.

Dan after his first alpine lead.

Many in our community lost friends and family in the events of that day, but far more of us mark that day as the turning point in which our lives were forever changed in the ensuing conflict of the following twelve years. Regardless of various motivations, our team marks the event by challenging ourselves in the wilderness.

Crossing the gap.

From September 7th to the 12th, I joined veteran climbers Dan Wiwczar and Derek Quintanilla in a traverse of Mount Olympus and the Ridge of the Gods in the wilderness of Washington State for the annual 911 climb.

Supper below the Blue Glacier.

Over the course of five and a half days, we walked and climbed 48 miles with 11,000 feet of elevation change on five peaks and two glaciers. We travelled through one of the largest temperate rain forests on the planet, steep sub alpine hills, and glaciated alpine vistas encompassing some of the most beautiful landscapes in our country.

Ridge of the Gods, with objectives Athena and Athens Owl to the right.

I was proud of my team as they faced every challenge the mountain threw at us. Long distances, dangerous crevasse travel, fluctuating temperatures, and exposed climbs on rotten rock only seemed to make them stronger as the trip ground on.

August 02, 2013

Joshua Brandon, above at center on Mt. Baker in the Cascade Range, graduated from The Citadel military college in South Carolina and served ten years as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army, including three tours of Iraq. He was awarded a silver star and two bronze stars with valor for his service and left the Army in 2012, having attained the rank of Major. He is now the Military and Community Outdoor Recreation Organizer for the Sierra Club's Mission Outdoors Program.

Below, Brandon with a group of veterans on an ascent of Mt. Adams, also in the Cascades.

Brandon is one of several veterans on the Sierra Club's staff (Mission Outdoors' Director Stacy Bare is another), and increasingly, veterans are taking up leadership positions within the Club's volunteer structure. Four of the Sierra Club's 63 chapter chairs are vets, and there are seven executive committee members, a national program director, and more than 20 leaders within the Club's various campaigns.

"To put this in perspective," he says, "the percentage of veterans within Sierra Club leadership is higher than in the American population at large."

Brandon, whose job with Mission Outdoors is to connect chapter outings programs with the military and with veterans and their families, is helping form a Sierra Club Veteran Leadership Team. "I've been going to events with other vets who want to get involved -- people like Ohio Chapter Chair Robert Shield," he says. "Our ultimate goal is to get veterans into Club leadership positions and more deeply involved with conservation. But the first step is to get them outdoors, because it's such a great way to fight the challenges veterans face after constant deployments and combat."

Brandon should know. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after his second tour of Iraq in 2006, and he credits getting outdoors with restoring his mental health and positive attitude.

"After I was diagnosed with PTSD I ignored the problem or treated it with alcohol, both of which were bad for me and everyone around me," he says. "I'd always enjoyed the outdoors as a kid, but growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, I never really considered myself an outdoors-y kind of guy. Then I moved to Washington State in 2008, and with Mt. Rainier staring at me every day, I decided to climb it."

July 18, 2013

The Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and the Boundary Waters are all marvels of the natural world, unlike any others on Earth. But in today's technology-driven world, it is all too easy for people to feel separated and alienated from our planet's natural features. Faraway places often feel like a postcard, and are not real or relevant in people's daily lives. Luckily, there are ways to bring nature to the people. Inner City Outings (ICO) is one program offered by the Sierra Club that aims to do this.

Sierra Club Inner City Outings is a community outreach program that provides opportunities for youth and adults to explore, enjoy, and protect the natural world -- valuable experiences for many who otherwise may not have easy access to the outdoors. This is done through more than 50 volunteer-run groups that conduct over 900 outings every year. Teaching youth about teamwork and conservation, while building self-esteem in the process, this program aims to ensure that everyone, no matter where they live, has a chance to witness the natural beauty of our country. When these children and adults return home from an ICO outing they have a newfound respect for nature, from national monuments to the parks in their own backyards.

Roger Johnston, chair of Angeles ICO in Los Angeles, has seen many benefits for children and parents alike. His group organizes three-to-six mile day hikes to wilderness areas such as Malibu Creek and Topanga state parks, overnight camping, beach cleanups, and other outdoor activities.

"Most of the children have never been to the local mountains" says Johnston. "They are thrilled to see deer, coyotes, lizards, turtles, and birds."

Boston ICO participants reading a map while sailing.

He also talks about how the group strives to educate youth about the importance of conservation. "We observe and talk about flora, fauna, habitats, erosion, the interconnections between species, and the impact of people on the environment. We instill respect for nature by requiring the students to leave their lunch spot completely litter-free, teaching them that fauna and flora are to be left untouched, and saying the only thing they should take home from the park are pictures."

The importance of getting people into the nature around them is not only of value to our environment, but also our livelihoods. "Gallup's Well-Being Index found that people who live in close proximity to parks have fewer headaches, lower obesity rates -- even up to 25 percent fewer heart attacks," says Jackie Ostfeld, Policy Manager for the Sierra Club's Mission Outdoors program, in her Huffington Post article Greening Away the Girth. "Not only does access to parks, playgrounds, and green space increase our likelihood of being physically fit, but the prevalence of parks and green spaces in our communities has also been associated with lower rates of asthma among children, higher property values, and even crime reduction."

Sadly, Ostfeld says, there are some major roadblocks of the "nearby nature" crusade. "Many people don't have 'nearby nature' -- only one in five kids can walk to a park or playground -- so distance is an issue. Park and play deserts, a lack of transportation, stranger danger, safety, and overscheduled kids and adults are all factors contributing to the indoor-oriented and increasingly sedentary lifestyles of many Americans."

The Sierra Club is working hard to close this divide between people and nature. In addition to the ICO program, Ostfeld points out that the Club's Local Outings and the Military Families and Veterans Initiative -- both under the umbrella of Mission Outdoors -- lead nearly 250,000 people each year into the outdoors.

Palm Beach ICO participants at MacArthur State Park, Florida.

By motivating people to connect with the green spaces in their local communities, the Sierra Club's "Our Wild America: Nearby Nature" campaign is another step towards garnering appreciation for nature and wild places. The Nearby Nature program works to increase access to parks and the outdoors in places where people live -- primarily urban areas.

By bringing nature to people who otherwise wouldn't have the chance to witness and experience it, we can ensure that conservation is at the forefront of American minds. Says Ostfeld: "If you ask any conservation leader what inspired them to want to protect the environment, hands down they will tell you about some experience they had visiting a national park or other outdoors space with their family as a kid. We know that the great outdoors has the power to inspire."

It is easy to protect the natural outdoor places we love. Nature to the people!

June 04, 2013

For Craig Jervis, people's love of
the outdoors starts at a young age.

"When I was young, I was told to
go outside and play. So I made the neighborhood mine. I knew every nook and
cranny. I knew which ponds had bass in them and which had catfish. I knew where
to find snakes. I went out and stayed out until dark. So it just got in my
blood," he said.

"I guess I thought that there'd
always be backyards and places to play. But living in the city, I guess I
didn't know that wouldn't always be the case. A lot of kids don't have
that."

That's where Inner City Outings steps
in. ICO comprises 50 volunteer-run groups across the country that reach 14,000
youth and lead more than 800 outings each year. In many cases, ICO kids have no
outdoor experience and instead live in urban areas with high crime and gangs.

"They’re disadvantaged in many ways," Craig says. "A lot of kids are in single-family homes or being raised by an
older sibling. So they're not getting the adult attention they need. That's what really sucked me into ICO. It's not so much that they need outdoor
experiences as much as they need adult presence. They are worth the time we
invest in them."

The Nashville group went on 12
outings last year, including three canoe trips, with a total of 240 kids
participating. Craig said he's interested in doing more trips that involve
water. Last summer, the kids produced this video of their adventure on Duck
River.

Craig hopes to incorporate education
into outings. He recalls asking ICO kids where they thought their water came
from, and their answer was "the tap. So we’re going to try to educate more
around that," he says.

"We're going to work on map reading
skills, safety, basic things. We want to make today's participants tomorrow's
leaders and give them the skills to enjoy the outdoors. That way at a later
time they’ll know how to take their family or friends with them."

These are experiences that stay with
kids for a lifetime.

"What was on my mind was, where
is the advocacy for the outdoors going to come from? Most conservationists have
signature experiences from their youth, whether it's fishing with their dads or
camping with family. Many of these kids don't have that opportunity and this is
a way to really open that door."